No one to trust
by Tara Jazel
Summary: The Order of the Phoenix is now through its most dreadful moment, and Dumbledore distrusts one of the members: His loyal Deputy Headmistress. CHAPTER 4! R&R!
1. No one to trust

**CHAPTER ONE**

NO ONE TO TRUST

The scant air circulating in the dungeon was cold and damp, enough to send shivers down any spine, with the exception of perhaps one single man, who could lounge in there four hours without so much as a shudder.

However, the current moment was not a time for lounging, but for acting. Severus Snape was in his office, looking into his cupboard, where he kept some of his already made potions, stored in flasks. He picked one of the first row and put it inside his robes, with a strange expressions in his face, something close to anger.

After locking his cupboard, Snape made his way towards the door and up the moldy starcaise. He soon arrived to a door. Before he knocked, a soft and painful moan could be heard within the room.

"The poor woman", he muttered to himself, in a very low voice.

He knocked then, just out of politeness, because he was well aware he did not need to ask permission at the present time.

"Is it you, Severus?", cried a woman´s voice, in a rather high tone.

"Yes, it is me, Professor. May I come in?"

He received a painful groan as an answer, so he twisted the golden knob and slowly opened the squeaking door. His pupils grew wider with the absense of light, as he tried to find the woman in the dark. He opened the door just a little more, so a faint thread of light from the corridor iluminated the room. He saw her then, in the floor, crouched beside the wall, holding her head in her trembling hands, sobbing slowly.

"Ah, Severus", mumbled, raising her head, tears pouring down her pale face. "Did you bring it?"

Snape nodded, while he advanced towards her and kneeled beside her. He extracted the flask from his robe´s inner pocket, and uncorked it. The woman streched her fingers pleadingly, and he gave it to her, but when she was about to drink it, she frowned.

"It smells different from the usual odor"

Snaped gaped at her, but regained his normal expression in a second. _"The woman´s head is searing with pain and she still has her awareness active. Quite impressive". _

"It is a more efficient potion against your migraine, Professor. I have been researching, for the usual one only helps you for a couple hours, but this one will relieve the pain for at least twelve hours".

Strands of dark hair were stuck to her drenched face when she drank the potion in a sole gulp. He eyelashes were all glued together because of the tears, and her beady eyes were trembling.

"I hope it does. We must be in Dumbledore´s office in one hour… the Order…".

"Why don´t you go and get some rest?" he suggested, not daring to remove her hair from her face. "I will return and wake you up when the time has come. That will help the potion as well".

She shocked her head slightly, feeling its pounding relentlessly.

"You would probably leave me asleep. You did it once".

Snape ignored her and forced her to get on her feet.

"I have said no, Sev…"

Then, he felt as though she had fallen, and knew the potion had worked perfectly. He carried her in his arms to a nearby couch, where he put her down, stretching her legs on the cushions. Only then he dared to remove the hair that was down her face, and put a small squab in the back of her head. He looked at her, silently.

"The old man must be fool… she could not possibly betray us… How could she?"

_**Autor´s note**: Well this is just sort of a prologue. Hopefully next chapters will be longer... So now be a responsible reader and please tell me what you think :D, or I may give you... THE PUPPY EYES! . _

_Well see you in the next chapter!_


	2. The truth?

**CHAPTER II**

THE TRUTH?

Dumbledore´s office was completely silent, despite the presence of almost the whole Order of the Phoenix, with the obvious exception of Sirius, whose terrifying death had put them all in a deep stupor, as they all came to realize concretely that it was their lives they were putting at stake.

The leader of the Order, Professor Dumbledore, was not willing to leave Hogwarts and return to Grimmauld´s Place, for he was not leaving the school, not with Voldemort being completely flagrant now. Now almost everybody in the Wizarding Community was aware that Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore were saying the undeniable truth, even through the all wished it was a lie. So now, the Order´s meetings took place at Dumbledore´s room.

"They are very punctual, aren´t they?" said Molly Weasley, who was talking in a very low voice to Mr. Weasley, who nodded in agreement.

Dumbledore was able to hear everything perfectly, but said nothing; he was now concentrating on the difficult speech he was about to do. He just needed the signal. Meanwhile, Tonks was in the middle of a transformation, from red-headed to yellow-headed, Shacklebolt Kingsley was rubbing a stain from his very white nail and Mundungus Fletcher seemed to be just a little dizzy, but Lupin, who was beside him, was quite aware that he was actually drunken, and Arabella Figg was looking at him supremely flustered.

However, Dumbledore remainded silent, until the blazes in his fireplace grew and turned bright green. They all turned to look, just to see Severus Snape stepping out of the flames. He unceremoniously removed the ashes that had landed on his robes and hair, and walked straight to the table, where the Order was already assembled.

"It has been done, Headmaster" he said, drawling the words, as everybody in the room, looked up at them, totally mistified.

"Thank you, Severus" said Dumbledore, smiling vagely. "Well, it is time to beggin our meeting".

A loud hiccup was heard, and Mundungus Fletcher clapped his hands to his mouth, trying to pretend there was nothing wrong with him.

"Shouldn´t we wait for McGonagall?" he asked.

"Next time we set a meeting, Mundungus, we certainly will appreciate if you did not stopped in a pub on your way here. Is it clear?" said Mrs. Figg, furiously.

"Thank you, Arabella" said Dumbledore. "You should listen to that, Mundungus".

He received another hiccup as an as answer, and continued:

"Minerva is not coming tonight, I am afraid to say".

He fell silent, giving the statemente enough time to settle.

"Oh, the poor thing... She is ill again, isn´t she?" asked Mrs. Weasley, genuinely concerned.

Dumbledore nooded.

"However, she is not coming to following meetings, ever..." For the first time it seemed as words were escaping his mind. "I have called you, not to discuss, but to explain to all of you the reason why Professor McGonagall has been banned henceforth from this Order".

Nobody uttered a word. Only Shacklebolt spoke after the announcement, in a deep and rather harsh way.

"With all due respect, Professor Dumbledore, I don´t think it is wise nor fair to discuss this matter without Professor McGonagall being present, if you forgive my interruption".

Dumbledore was calmed, even though there was a strange look in his eyes; its usual sparkling was completely gone.

"As I said before, Shacklebolt, you are not here to discuss the matter, but to simply know about it, for I have already decided it is best to proceed this way. As it is, I will ask all of you not to speak to her about anything that may concern the Order".

Everybody in the room knew Dumbledore was a very wise man, but this imposition did not exactly correspond to his usual image. He was not the kind of leader who imposed an order without even asking his subordinates.

"We understand your statement perfectly, Professor Dumbledore" said Lupin, rasing both eyebrows. "However, I am sure we would all like to know why you have decided to ban her. For all we know, she has always been the most loyal of your friends and helpers. It is normal to for us to think it unfair that she is not here" He took a deep breath and continued. "The lady deserves at least an explanation. I think it will be wise to call her... if she is ill then we sould postpone this meeting until she is able to join us".

Dumbledore´s right temple was pounding slightly. From the beggining he knew than convincing them was not going to be an easy task at all.

"Professor McGonagall is not here because I have asked Severus to administer her a very powerful sleeping draught, known as the Draught of the Living Death. She will come to her senses soon and luckily today is Friday".

Dumbledore had enough time to see the petrified faces of his Order´s members. No one dared to speak out loud what was crossing their minds, and he was sure their thought were not very postive. They may even think he was losing his mind.

"And she drank it?" growled Moody, unbelievingly. "The smell is piercing... I cannot comprehend how a former Auror drinks something without even... I know I would not...".

"She realized it was not the usual smell of the potion I always make for her" said Snape, darkly. "But the pain did not let her think clearly".

"Well, perhaps it is easy when the potion is handed to you by someone you trust in... and who tells you it is a potion against the migraine that is splitting your head up almost twice a week" said Tonks, totally disgusted, directing Snape a very dirty look.

"I think it is time for you" interrupted Lupin harshly, talking to Dumbledore, while he stood up "to tell us exactly why you have gone so far to avoid the presence of Professor McGonagall in this room".

"Please sit, Remus. And try to remain calm" said Dumbledore slowly, in a voice that suddenly seemed older and loaded with very heavy burdens for a man´s back. "I am not trying to avoid her presence. I am protecting her".

"Is drugging your most loyal friend your idea of protection, Dumbledore?" asked Mrs. Weasley, who had not been able to find the words to desribe her boiling anger. "I sincerely fail to understand you. Why would she need protection in the first place?".

Albus Dumbledore gazed at her though misty eyes. Suddenly, he realized that almost everybody in the room was staring at him with the same concerned and mistified looks. However, he was sure once he had explained everything to them, they will perfectly understand the way in which he had proceeded. Even Fawkes seemed to be looking at him with his bright black beetle eyes.

He realized then that all of them deserved an explanation.

He slowly circled the table, trying to find the words to describe what was happening.

"You do realize, of course, that Professor McGonagall was my student here at Hogwarts, during the time Tom Riddle was still that brilliant Head Boy and the favorite student of almost every professor".

He paused for a moment. The members of the Order were wondering when he will go straight to the point.

"That is old information" said Lupin, shrugging. "Please tell us something we don´t know".

"Well, I certainly didn´t know that..." said Tonks brightly, but she stopped almost immediately, as Lupin looked at her as though she had just said the worst possible thing.

"Here is something you certainly didn´t know," continued Dumbledore, who didn´t seem aware of the interruption he had just endured. "Tom Riddle was Professor McGonagall´s dearest friend at that time".

Molly Weasley was unable to remain sat after what she had just heard about her fomer Professor.

"And you are insinuating that just because she was his friend... ? Are you suggesting that perhaps she will reveal our whereabouts and plans? That is the most...

But Albus didn´t knew what followed her statement, because everybody else in the room, with the exception of Snape, was now talking loudly. Albus raised his hand, trying to calm everybody. He had feared this; he had feared they all thought he was being unfair, and perhaps he was, but it was not her who he distrusted.

"If you please... just stay calm while I continue", said Dumbledore, closing his eyes to regain peacefulness. "It is not her who I distrust... it is _him_. Voldemort".

Almost every member of the Order flinched at the mention of the name.

"Dumbledore, please don´t say... not that name..." said Mr. Weasley, with a pale face.

"I have always thought that fear of a name only increases the fear itself. There is no reason why we should not..."

"We are deviating from the subject here, Professor", piped in Lupin, rather aggressively. "We are not discussing Voldemort´s name −just cut it out, Arthur! −but the situation...".

Albus nodded in agreement.

"You are right, of course" he said, curtly. "The thing is that... you all know he possesses powers nobody could ever dream of having, but powers are not the issue here. I am certain that Voldemort may try to coerce her into telling him something about us, _´for their old friendship´s sake´_. By banning her, we are prottecting her and us at the same time. If she knows nothing more about the Order, she will have nothing to tell just in case he..."

He broke off, quite sure that his message was by now understood.

"How will you explain this to her, Dumbledore?" asked Lupin.

"The truth, Remus. Always the thruth"

Mr. Figg was struggling not to say something, but Dumbledore fixed his gaze upon her.

"Say whatever is in your mind, Arabella"

"Don´t you think she will be offended?" she exploded. "Almost forty years of loyal friendship and this is how you pay her? Distrusting her and her reasoning? Thinking that she may somehow talk out of affection?"

Albus nodded; he had agreed with this comment long before he knew who would utter it. He had been wondering how to tell her without offending her, without making her think she was not trustable anymore, but she was such a loyal and dear friend to him. He might be acting as Voldemort expected him to act, but he was going to do everything that was on his hands to prevent her suffering.

"I know she will understand this feeble attempt to keep her away from danger. She will understand and forgive".

The members of the Order were gone within an hour, not very convinced of his arguments, but he knew they will end up accepting it.

"The truth, Remus. Always the thruth" said a hoarse voice before him, mimicking the words he had already pronounced.

Dumbledore didn´t even turned.

"It was the easiest way to go, Armando, I assure you"

The portrait of the former Hogwart´s Headmaster was hanging close to him, and his owner didn´t seem pleased by the facts he had just seen. His face was red with anger.

"Was it, Dumbledore?" asked Dippet, furiously. "You were talking about ´truth´, Albus, but I am afraid you are not quite familiar with the term. Are you?"

Slowly turning to face him, Dumbledore smiled feebly.

"I believe I know why you are saying that, Armando".

Dipper laughed out loud, waking up almost every single one of the Hogwart´s former Headmasters and Headmistress.

"I bet you do. _´His dearest friend?´_... I believe you failed to mention something else... You should have told them their frienship was not an ordinary one... or have you already forgotten that Minerva McGonagall used to be Tom Riddle´s mistress?"

Albus began to feel his heart pounding faster, his temper boiling.

"Don´t you repeat that again, Armando!" he shouted, pointing at him. "She is my friend and I shall not allow you to..."

"Why not?" asked Dippet. "Everybody else in this room knows it after all. Don´t you, Phineas?" he added, talking to Sirius´s relative and less popular Headmaster of Howgarts.

Phineas Nigellus raised both arms in front of him.

"I don´t want to intervene...", he said sheepishly. "But yes, she was...".

Albus stormed out of his office. He now came to understand than the portraits were not a good company for him in the present time.

_**Autor´s note: **Well, chapter two is over, and is certainly much longer than I had first planned, but that is perfect!_ _Thank all of you who had read and reviewed this story, you guys are great:D _

_Special thanks to** \\/ Jadzania, **who was the first one who left a review! _

_Well, leave a nice review and you will be able to know some of the following questions:_

_Will Dumbledore tell his Deputy the truth? Will she accept it? Will Voldemort try to do what Dumbledore thinks he might? Will Tonks ever stop changing the color of her hair? Will Dippet ever stop meddling in things that are not of his concern? Will I ever stop circling around the bushes and continue the tale? _

_You´ll know soon:D See you next chapter! _


	3. Dippet´s tantrum

**CHAPTER THREE**

**DIPPET´S TANTRUM**

Weekend slipped by very quickly, and Gryffindor´s sixth year was on the way to Transfiguration. They all entered in, and were surprised to find that, for the first time ever, their teacher was not in the room yet.

They took their usual places and waited.

"Come on, Hermione!" begged Ron, taking Hermione´s parchment. "Just let me see your paper! I only need two more paragraphs!"

Hermione snatched her paper back.

"You had enough time to finish it, put you preferred to be practicing Quidditch", she said, frowning. "Why don´t you make something up? You always do".

"Do you know something, Hermione?", asked Ron, grinning. "When you frown, you look exactly like McGonagall".

"I don´t think she is coming", said Harry, suddenly.

Ron and Hermione stopped arguing and looked at him.

"How do you know?", asked Hermione.

Harry answered by directing his eyes to the entrance. Professor Dumbledore had just entered the room, looking extremely tired. He stepped beside the desk, and cleared his throat.

"Professor McGonagall is ill, so she will not be able to attend class", he declared, looking all of them through his half-moon spectacles. "Yes, Miss Granger?".

Hermione had raised her hand.

"What kind of illness?"

Dumbledore smiled feebly.

"Migraine. I am afraid Professor Snape accidentally gave her a very powerful sleeping draught insted of a remedy, so she has been asleep since Friday night. Hopefully she will regain consciousness before next Christmas", he added, smiling at his own hability to extract a joke out of the situation. "We expect she will wake up today or tomorrow, so you will have to endure me for that time, for I am yout substitute teacher".

Harry had never had a class with Dumbledore, but he was glad he was now having the chance, because he was an excellent teacher; he went to any lenght to ensure that they all understand the lesson, and if someone had a doubt, he would explain it again until it was all clear. Very different from McGonagall.

"Well, class is over", Dumbledore said, smiling. "You may go".

The all stood up and made for the door, but just as they were leaving, Professor Dumbledore called them.

"Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. I would like to have a word with you".

Harry was about to leave. It was obvious it was a Prefect thing; he still felt a little jealous about not being a Prefect himself, but then he remembered Dumbledore´s words about not wanting to give him more burden to carry.

"And Mr. Potter, you may stay to. Your help can be valuable."

The three of them stayed there, until every Gryffindor was out. Then, Dumbledore motioned them to sit down.

"Where to begin?", he wondered, sitting in Professor McGonagall´s chair. "I am afraid I have not been completely honest with all of you. Professor McGonagall is indeed asleep, but it was no accident. I asked Severus to give her the sleeping potion, so that she would not be able to attend a meeting from the Order".

The three of the stared at him, completely nonplussed. Harry wondered why he was telling them this, when it was obvious it was kind of a more private thing. Dumbledore, however, seemed to have read their minds.

"You are probably wondering why am I telling you this", he said. "The main problem is that I have decided to ban Professor McGonagall from the Order".

"To ban her?" asked Hermione, bewildered. "But what on earth would guarantee that nonsense?".

"Is she a traitor?", spluttered Ron, before he could restrain himself.

Dumbledore seemed angry for a second, but when Harry blinked at looked at him for a second time, he just saw the same calm face.

"She is my most loyal friend, Mr. Weasley. Never a traitor", he said. "However, I would ask you not to talk to her about anything that may concern the order. It is for her and our own protection."

Hermione, however, was not convinced.

"But why have you banned her?".

Dumbledore sighed.

"Voldemort knows that by now everybody in the Wizarding world is aware of his return, and believe everything we have been telling for the past year. He will now be more flagrant, more open; he will not be afraid of presenting himself in public places, just to cause a disrupt. You must know that Professor McGonagall and Tom Riddle were very good friends. I fear for her life and our safety if he tries to force her to help him".

"McGonagall will never help You-Know-Who", said Ron.

"They were _very _good friends, Mr. Weasley. Just like you and Miss Granger", replied Dumbledore. "I will ask a favor from you; as Prefects, you have a little more contact with her than the rest of the students, so if you see something out of place... something strange about her, please let me know immediately".

The three of them nodded. Dumbledore smiled and went to the door; he opened it and his jaw fell. There was a cat in the threshold. A tabby cat.

"Minerva!", exclaimed Dumbledore. "You are awake. I must say I am very pleased to see you healthy again".

The cat vanished with a loud pop, and in its place, stood now Professor McGonagall.

"Tell me something, Albus", she hissed. "What do forty years mean to you?".

Dumbledore smiled tauntingly.

"Certainly a lot of time, my dear Professor".

"Forty years is the time I have been you friend, Albus, but for you that time is clearly not enough to let me know you have banned me from the Order, just because you think I may help my old friend Tom Riddle".

The room was completely silent now. Not even Dumbledore could utter a word. He was speechless.

"You have quite a good ear, my dear. The hearing of a cat. Unfortunately, I don´t believe we should discuss this in the presence of the youngsters, don´t you agree?".

Professor McGonagall was angry beyond belief, but it was obvious that she continued to be the same stern autority, so she beckoned the trio to exit the classroom.

"Potter, Granger, and Weasley, the lesson has ended. You have no bussiness here whatsoever".

Harry, Ron and Hermione were out of the room before they had time to even breathe again.

"Now, I must ask you to listen to the explanation of an old fool´s attempt to protect his dearest friend", said Dumbledore, once the door had closed ad the steps were faint.

Professor McGonagall stepped back, completely disgusted.

"I don´t want to hear you, Albus Dumbledore. For the first time of my life, I prefer not to listen to you, for nothing that you can say will erase what you just did to me".

Dumbledore took her hands.

"What if I tell you that I was just thinking of you... of your own protection?"

"My own protection?", she repeated even angrier, if that was possible. "Why, do you think I cannot make a choice? Do you think that when I see Riddle again I will tell him everything? He is a dark wizard, Dumbledore, not my _dearest friend,_ as you have put it so gingerly".

Albus even resented the tone of her voice; never the sound of his surname had seemed so horrible than in that moment. He was by now accostumed to be called by her "Albus" and not "Dumbledore"; he remembered now just how many years he spent trying to persuade her to stop addressing him by his last name, and now it was clear they had lost that confidence.

"Well, I suppose that is because _I _am your dearest friend now", he said, smiling. "Aren´t I?".

Professor McGonagall folded her arms. "Please don´t joke, Dumbledore. Not now. It is the last thing I need, I assure you".

"What you need to understand, Minerva, is that Voldemort surely knows you are one of my most faithful supporters. He may see you as a breach in the Order´s security".

"He has not seen me for the past sixteen years. You are well aware of that, because you had done everything to prevent it".

Dumbledore slowly shook his head.

"You had a very strong link with him; I doubt that link has already dissolved. It probably never will, and he knows it".

Her nostrils flared. "You have quite a nice way of calling things when you don´t want to name them by a term that displeases you", she said, pursing her lips. "The word link´, completely proves my theory".

"Why, do you prefer him to use the right word, McGonagall?".

Both of them turned their gazes. In the space between the blackboard and the corner was a portrait of Morgana Le Fey, who was furious because another character had entered her realm; Armando Dippet had left his usual place at Dumbledore´s office and seemed to be invading portraits that were close to any discussion.

"Armando, we appreciate privacy, so if you would please return to my quarters I would consider it a personal favor".

Professor McGonagall walked to the portrait. "What is the right word, Professor Dippet?".

The former Headmaster raised an eyebrow. "Why, you should know it better than I do. After all, you were Riddle´s mistress".

"That will do, Armando!", said Dumbledore, in a rather harsh way, standing beside his Deputy.

"Get out of my picture, you...!", cried Morgana Le Fey, but Armando Dippet just ignored her.

"You know, I almost died again when you chose her to be your Deputy, Albus", he snarled. "Her! Among all the others you had to choose Voldemort´s woman! She may even become Headmistress! Now, that would be a shame!"

Dumbledore seemed too be struggling not to break the picture. "She is a brilliant woman, an outstanding teacher and a skilled witch. I don´t care if she was his...".

"But you made her your friend, also!", Dippet shouted, as if he were denouncing a terrible crime. "And not only your friend, but your confidant! She knows more about you than anybody else! I told you she could betray you if he returned! Now he has returned and you are seeing danger!".

Professor McGonagall was eyeing him closely. "You hate me, don´t you?", she whispered. "You hate me because my mother always refused you".

Dippet seemed to take a step back. "You liar...".

"So I am a liar now, aren´t I?", she snarled back. "Have you forgotten her? You always fancied her. Al least once a week you visited the Ministry of Magic so you could get a glimpse of her. I don´t blame you, she was bright and astonishing, but she already had a family. You must have made the worst tantrum of your life when you found out; I guess you just vowed to deliver hell to her children if they ever came to Hogwarts, and you have been doing it ever since, haven´t you?".

Armando Dippet was completely taken aback by her words, and so was Dumbledore. Neither of them could utter a word.

"Haven´t you, Dippet?", cried Professor McGonagall.

Dippet bared his teeth. "She could have had everything she wanted. There was nothing in this world I would have denied her, but she preferred to remain with that useless Squib. Did he helped when she was killed?".

"Come on, Minerva. We must get out of here", said Dumbledore, taking her by the shoulders and directing her to the door. "It has been enough, Armando. You should be ashamed".

They exited the classroom, but Armando didn´t quit. He rushed out of Morgana´s portrait and run into another one, in the corridor, a few meters away from them.

"And have you forgotten who killed your mother, McGonagall?".

"That´s enough, Armando!", shouted Dumbledore, walking faster, but the former Headmaster started to run from portrait to portrait.

"She was killed by your lover, McGonagall!", he cried, at the top of his lungs. "And who your despicable lover was? None other than Lord Voldem... !".

Dumbledore had taken his wand and directed a curse to the portrait that held Dippet in that moment. The picture exploded right in front of them, but it was already too late; at least twenty Hufflepuffs were exiting from one classroom to the corridor. By the look on their faces, it was clear they had seen and heard the last part of the discussion.

Dumbledore let go of Professor McGonagall and walked slowly to them, every wrinkle in his face irradiating a cold anger.

"If one of you dares to repeat what you just heard or saw, you will be all preparing your trunks before you can say "sherbet lemon". Is that clear?".

The all nodded instantly, not daring to blink, staring at him.

"Good", he said smiling, as it had never happened. "Now go to your next class".

All of them obliged, not because of his words, but rather because of his gaze. A cold gaze that reflected nothing of that kind man who always wore a smile. When they were all gone, he turned to face his Deputy, but she was not standing there anymore. Instead, he noticed a tabby cat running down a staircaise.


	4. The tabby in the owlery

**CHAPTER FOURTH**

**THE TABBY IN THE OWLERY**

It was a bright sunny day when Albus climbed the staircase that led to the owlery, the high place in the castle where all the school owls rested and were called down to deliver messages. However, Dumbledore had Fawkes when it referred to send messages, so his business there obeyed a much higher cause.

There, in the wide window was a tabby cat, sitting there, just staring at the horizon. He sighed, walked to the place and sat down next to it. He looked it for a few seconds and then he spoke:

"If this tabby cat could just transform back into that nice and astonishing witch so I can talk to her, it would be quite pleasant."

The cat moved its tail and continued to stare ahead. Dumbledore could read the words in that action. _"I have nothing to say to you."_

"So you won't talk to me, is that it?" he said. "Do you plan to sit here all day without so much as a single word?"

The cat simply started to lick its paw.

"Well if you will start behaving as a cat, I guess it will be alright for me to start singing. Let's see… which one would you like? I have quite a good selection of muggle music… Have you ever heard Fred Astaire? _Heaven, I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak…_ no, no, that was dreadful… I will try it with my gifted tenor voice: _And I seem to find the happiness I seek… when we are together dancing cheek to cheek…_"

Even the owls ruffled at his dreadful voice, but the cat was very calmed, so he cleared his throat again and spoke:

"No, let me try another… you see, a few years ago I saw a movie…´The sound of music´. Very popular movie among the muggles… I particularly liked that last song… how was it? _Climb every mountain, search high and low. Follow every byway… _No, no… I like best that one when the Von Trapp children sing… _So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu…_"

There was a loud _pop_, and where the cat was sited now was a woman, distinctly ruffled.

"Alright, I will listen, but just cut it out, would you?"

"Why, so soon? Just when I was starting to enjoy myself."

"It was dreadful, Albus."

Dumbledore smiled. She must be less angry by now, or she would not have called him by his name again.

"How did you now it was me?" she asked.

Dumbledore shrugged.

"My dear Professor, I have never seen a cat…"

"Yes, yes I know" she snarled. "You have never seen a cat sit so stiff".

"I was actually going to say that I had never seen a cat sit so sad. Really, Minerva, do we have to endure all of this drama when we can simply talk like friends? The way it has always been."

Professor McGonagall did not answer. An abrupt wind blew next to them, disheveling them. Dumbledore had to hold his hat tightly to his head.

"I am not so sure I can talk to you as a friend anymore."

"There is that drama again. You know, I don't think that a conversation among owl's droppings is helping us much, either".

She stood up. "Well, perhaps we should go to your office so I can have another nice fight with Dippet while I enjoy being called a strumpet. Do you agree?"

Dumbledore did not even turn his gaze.

"You have always told me everything. Yet, there is still one part of your life that is still a mystery to me, and because of my respect to you I have preferred not to ask," he muttered, thoughtfully, "but now I need to know. What happened after you and Tom Riddle graduated from Hogwarts?"

Professor McGonagall sighed deeply. For a moment, Dumbledore believed she was going to reproach him for bringing back to her mind those memories, but she simply sat down beside him, fixing her gaze intently to the horizon.

"He told me he wanted to see the world, to learn more. He desired to become a very powerful wizard and asked me to go with him," she said sadly. "I refused naturally. I loved him very much, but I wanted to become an Auror so dearly that I believed his proposal was not fair for me, so we parted; I entered the Ministry and he went to travel around the world."

She paused a moment, expecting a question or a comment from Dumbledore, but he did not even open his lips, so she continued:

"I suppose his first deed before he departed was to kill his family. He hated them so much… Anyway, when he returned fourteens years later, he was hardly that young and bright man I used to cherish; he had seen too much, had gathered with the wrong folk and had become hard, pitiless and arrogant. He sought me and confessed that in all his trips, he had been unable to find someone like me."

"So you became his couple."

Professor McGonagall nodded silently. Her eyes were damp, but her voice was quite steady.

"I continued to work for the Ministry. Back then, I had no idea what he was planning, but now I guess he was already assembling the people who would soon become his Death Eaters. They started to move in secret and began killing important people. Naturally, Moody and I were put to the case, and when we captured one of them we made him confess. He told us who he was working for. I was so worried that I… I modified Moody's memory, trying to buy some time for Tom, because I was sure there must be a mistake. That night I returned home and told him everything; he confessed to me what he was planning, but assured he would keep me apart from his plans. I loved him so much, so I accepted to turn a blind eye to his deeds and continued to work as an Auror… but then came a time when I could not longer live like that, so I told him I was not willing to have that double life, being loyal to the Ministry at day, and being his couple and a traitor at night, so I left him."

Dumbledore sighed. There was absolute silence, apart from the fact that the owls eventually screeched. "Surely he was furious."

"He was. That same night he killed my mother, my father and my little sister."

Dumbledore remained silent, wondering how he could comfort her after he had forced her to talk about that issue. But she continued, in a harsh voice, a voice that was not her own, filled with hatred and revulsion.

"From that day on, I lived just to see him dead, to hunt him down. I even led the squad to capture him and his minions."

Dumbledore nodded. He was also remembering the evolution of the conflict.

"That is when he ran away," he said, "and you started as a member of the Hogwarts´ staff. He appeared twelve years later as Lord Voldemort. The Order fought him for eleven years, until Harry defeated him."

"Do you know something?" she asked, looking absently-minded to the horizon. "There is something I have not told anybody, not even you. Before my family's tomb I swore to never rest until Tom Marvolo Riddle was dead, until he had paid with his despicable blood for the murder of my parents and my sister. Now, you want to take that revenge away from me, Albus Dumbledore?"

She stood up, and either did Dumbledore.

"Minerva, just please listen to me. I have always known how much you hated him, but you also loved him. I am not taking the revenge away from you, I am just protecting the possibility that some day we will both gloat over his defeat. If we die, then everything will have been pointless."

"Well, now listen to me, Albus; in or out of your Order, I will do everything within my power to destroy him. If he ever tries to seek me, I will kill him before he can say a word."

Dumbledore took a long breath and stared at her.

"You cannot kill him. Even I cannot" he said. "The only one who can defeat him is Harry. It has been already written."

She stomped her right foot.

"Don't talk to me about prophecies! And especially not about those made by Sybill Trelawney! Divination is the most inaccurate branch of magic, not to mention the most ludicrous!"

Dumbledore carefully took her hands.

"I know what your thoughts about Divination are, my dear Professor. I have known for about forty years, but I have reason to believe that Sybill has made two true prophecies; one, as you already know, predicted accurately the return of Voldemort and the escape of Peter Pettigrew."

Professor McGonagall shrugged.

"Nothing more than luck, I am sure. Two lucky moments in sixteen years is not what you would call _reliable_, is it?"

"Well, perhaps not… but _you _are reliable, my dear. Do you still consider this old man a dear friend to you?"

She did not answer straight away. Instead of that, she diverted her eyes to a white owl that was on a wooden beam, seemingly Harry Potter´s one. Hedwig was grooming her feathers with her beak. Dumbledore believed she was going to remain silent, but when he was about to speak, she did it first:

"You are indeed foolish, Albus Dumbledore. How can you ask a question like that? You are well aware that you are my dearest friend".

Dumbledore risked a gamble. He knew that perhaps he was pushing his luck a little too much to the edge.

"Even a dearer friend than Riddle?"

To his surprise, she smiled feebly and hugged him.

"The dearest of them all."

"Then, as your friend Minerva, I ask you to trust me in this movement. Just step aside from the Order. I cannot possibly continue if I know you are in danger."

Professor McGonagall smiled and sighed.

"Alright, Albus, I will step aside, if that pleases you."

"Do I have your word?"

She nodded.

"You do have my word. However, there is one thing I cannot promise: If I ever, ever, come face to face with him… if I ever have that chance to destroy him, I will not doubt it, Albus, I will kill him, even if I die on the attempt. I expect you have nothing against that."

Dumbledore decided to grant her that concession; he had already forced her to renounce to the Order, and he did not pretend to take away one of her reasons to live, which was seeing Voldemort dead.

"You know something, Minerva? I really think we should go to the Great Hall and have our meal, because your students may think you are still asleep."

She clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Oh, dear! I have completely… I did not even remember…"

"It is alright," he said, while walking down the stairs, "as long as I can deduct this day from your payment."

Professor McGonagall laughed, but suddenly stopped, as she remembered something.

"I think there is something you should deduct from your office. A very _despicable _item: Armando Dippet´s portrait."

"I would break it if that pleased you, my dear… but Armando pays a service. Even though you may not find him so useful, he is, Minerva. He may serve to a higher purpose."


End file.
